Sam Olens Archives

East Cobb resident Sam Olens, who has been president of Kennesaw State University for just over a year, has announced he is stepping down effective Feb. 15, 2018.

Olens, a former Cobb Commission Chairman and Georgia Attorney General, had come under fire this fall for his handling of a protest by KSU cheerleaders who kneeled during the national anthem before football games, a controversy that involved Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren and Cobb State Rep. Earl Ehrhart.

In a letter sent Thursday to KSU staff, faculty and students, Olens recounted the successes of his brief tenure at KSU, which is Georgia’s third-largest university, but said that “I have decided that new leadership will be required for KSU to fully reach its potential.”

He did not allude to the cheerleader controversy, which was the subject of a review by the Georgia Board of Regents. The report was critical of how Olens handled the matter, saying he went against the university’s legal guidance that cheerleaders or others shouldn’t be prevented from kneeling as long as they’re not disruptive.

Warren and Ehrhart were upset when five black cheerleaders kneeled before a Sept. 30 KSU game, and demanded that they be kept off the field. Olens denied he was under any pressure to make changes.

In Nov. 2016, Olens was appointed by the regents after being the only candidate considered, a move that was criticized for not being more comprehensive and transparent, and for hiring a politician with no higher education background. It was nearly a year before Olens was formally installed.

A Republican, Olens got his political start in East Cobb, being elected to represent District 3 on the Cobb Board of Commissioners in 1998. He served as chairman from 2002 to 2010, when he resigned to run for Georgia Attorney General.

He was elected Attorney General in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. As noted by the Atlanta Jewish Times, Olens, a member of East Cobb’s Congregation Etz Chaim, is the first Jewish person elected to statewide office in a partisan race.

Olens resigned to become KSU president following the retirement of Daniel Papp, and took over just as KSU was consolidating with Southern Poly, expanding its enrollment to 35,000.

After Olens’ announcement Thursday, KSU said it would conduct a national search to name his successor. KSU Provost Ken Harmon will serve as interim president.

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A week that was supposed to have been a festive one for Sam Olens has turned out to be very different.

Olens, an East Cobb resident and former Cobb commission chairman and Georgia Attorney General, was formally installed this week as the president of Kennesaw State University.

It’s a post Olens has held since last year, but what’s called the “investiture” ceremony was scheduled for Thursday.

Some KSU students used the occasion to stage a protest in support of five cheerleaders who were removed from the football field before games because they were kneeling during the national anthem.

That decision came after Cobb Sheriff Neil Warren and Earl Erhart, a Republican state representative from Cobb County, objected to the demonstrations.

Olens, who developed a reputation as a strong consensus builder during his time leading Cobb County government, has said little about the controversy.

As reported by the Cobb County Courier and the KSU Sentinel, Olens said nothing during Thursday’s installation speech. He also has denied feeling the pressure from Warren and Erhart, although text messages made public reveal that the two elected officials credited themselves with the decision to keep the cheerleaders away from pre-game activities.

Olens’ tenure has been relatively quiet since the early weeks of his administration, which was met with some opposition. Those complaints included the lack of a full search process and his lack of a higher education administrative background.

Last month, Olens was the special guest of both the East Cobb Business Association and the Northeast Cobb Business Association.

That was right before the cheerleaders began to kneel, and now the Georgia Board of Regents will be conducting a review of the matter.

On Saturday, the Kennesaw State football team will be playing its first home game since the controversy began. The Owls play host to Gardner-Webb for homecoming at 7 p.m.